Poppy Pedder is the co-creator of SHUGA FIXX vs The Illuminati, the first production in Iris Theatre’s inaugural Winter Season at new theatre space The POD at the Actors’ Church, Covent Garden.
Featuring tearaways, rhinestoned lizards and original pop hitz, SHUGA FIXX vs The Illuminati, provides a sugar-coated, outrageously silly, high-camp antidote for these strange times.
SHUGA FIXX vs The Illuminati co-created by Poppy Pedder runs 23rd to 27th November 2021. Tickets are on sale here.
Shuga Fixx vs. The Illuminati is coming to the pod, what can you tell us about it?
It’s a satirical B-Movie fever dream about an average tween girl band fighting against alien-lizards… and, yes, it’s as weird as it sounds. ‘SHUGA FIXX vs the illuminati’ is a comedy parodying the dark absurdity of conspiracy theories, the rise of fear culture and our poor treatment of celebrities.
I approached Guttersnipe Theatre with the concept pre-covid, and together (with all the cast and creative team) wrote SHUGA FIXX throughout the pandemic. After over a year of not being able to watch live theatre, our aim was to give audiences a fun time.
What inspired you to write it?
Growing up I was deeply inspired by B-Movies. I think it started with ‘Plan Nine from Outer Space’ by the infamous ‘worst director of all time’ Ed Wood. Not only was there a huge comic element to my enjoyment of these films, but there was also something really punk about them.
The initial vision was inspired by a specific genre of B-Movie where a bunch of weapon-wielding women would fight against zombies or werewolves. I wanted to reimagine this genre to create a comedy about a girl band fighting against the illuminati.
Why did you want to pit a girlband against a satanic inner circle?
The illuminati (ie. ‘the satanic inner circle’) has become the poster-child of modern conspiracy theories. The imagery of tween pop-princesses battling it out against aliens is fun and camp, but I also wanted to use this play to irreverently mock our poor treatment of celebrities (especially women).
At the same time, SHUGA FIXX parodies the dark obscurities of Reddit/YouTube conspiracy theory culture, which often use celebrities to star in their insidious narratives.
How does it feel to have your play opening the POD, and why do you think it’s such an important new venue for London?
We’re thrilled at the opportunity to get this show programmed at the POD. The team there have their finger on the pulse of what new writing audiences are looking for, and it’s really exciting to have a performance space in Covent Garden that promotes emerging artists rather than big-budget established acts.
What’s been your biggest challenge in getting the show to this point?
We had to stop and start development several times throughout COVID. We did a lot of Zoom rehearsals, but it’s tricky to choreograph high kicks in your bedroom (not that our kicks are that high to be honest). All the same, we were incredibly relieved to get back in the rehearsal room and excited to embark on this new iteration of the project supported by Relish theatre. Relish have united us with amazing new creatives and taken ‘SHUGA FIXX Vs The Illuminati’ to new heights.
What would you say to anyone thinking of coming to see Shuga Fixx vs. The Illuminati?
It’s unapologetically strange, spangly, silly and the pop bangerz are actually amazing.
